Supply Chain Expertise and Technology Blog by TMC, a division of C.H. Robinson

In many ways, technology can be the determining factor of what makes or breaks major logistics events, like the upcoming Black Friday shopping holiday. It takes planning and precision to execute an efficient, effective supply chain under typical circumstances; the surge leading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday only magnifies the importance of thorough preparation—or the frustration of a glitch.

Your supply chain is only as good as the technology platform backing it, so it’s crucial to make sure your global logistics management provider has the stable systems and scalability to handle peak volumes.

A stress test can determine and demonstrate whether or not your provider has the advanced technology and capabilities that contribute to a seamless logistics event. Then, based on the results of the test, your provider can make system modifications to help make sure shipments go out on time and are delivered on time.

Though it’s too late to request and run a stress test for this year’s Black Friday shipments, it’s worth talking with your provider now to prepare for the next peak season. And, in the meantime, there are several questions you can ask your provider to give you a better grasp on the technology capabilities they offer.

1. Have you done any volume stress testing on your system? If so, at what level of volume relative to current throughput do you have issues?
2. Are you willing to do an end-to-end volume test?
3. In what ways can you scale your system if you run into volume-related performance issues? How quickly could these corrective actions take place?

If you would like to connect with an expert to learn more, you can do so by clicking here.

Editor’s note: This post originally ran on Transportfolio. Since Black Friday is right around the corner, we wanted to share it with you here on Connect.